Verdict
Summary
The Israeli-Italian production Come Closer (shot in Hebrew) is a coming of age romantic drama with a vivid performance by Lia Elalouf. Writer / director Tom Nesher managed to capture something real here, which is no surprise considering this was based on his own story.
Plot:
A young woman loses her brother in a tragic accident and she begins a relationship with her brother’s girlfriend.
Review:
On his birthday, teenage Nati (Ido Tako) is killed in a road accident, throwing his family for a tragic spin. His older sister Eden (Lia Elalouf) is stunned by the event, and after the funeral she goes through Nati’s phone and makes a discovery: He had a girlfriend whom she knew nothing about, which perplexes and shocks her because she thought she knew everything about her brother. She stalks the girl – Maya (Darya Rosenn) – on social media and quickly figures out where she works, and when she shows up unannounced, she forces Maya to sit down with her to pick her brain. Resenting the fact that Nati never told her about her, Eden offends young Maya (who’s still in high school), but Eden returns the next day and apologizes and just wants to get to know her a little bit because it will be like getting to know a side of her brother in a way. Apparently, Nati and Maya were lovers and were deeply in love, which Eden finds strange and unfamiliar because despite the fact that she’s a promiscuous, worldly young woman (she’s maybe 20, 21), she’s never experienced the kind of love Maya apparently had with Nati. Over the course of a short time, Maya falls in love with Eden, but for Eden it’s not serious, just surface level intimacy, which she so casually enjoys just to avoid real feelings. When Maya realizes that Eden is a taker and not a giver, she makes it clear that she’s much more emotionally stable and strong than Eden is, which upsets the balance that Eden enforces, leading to another shattering event between them that will separate them forever.
The Israeli-Italian production Come Closer (shot in Hebrew) is a coming of age romantic drama with a vivid performance by Elalouf as the free-wheeling emotional dumpster fire of a young woman whose hurt is reflected most when she’s basically fucking the pain away. Every moment she’s on screen I was riveted with her, and writer / director Tom Nesher managed to capture something real here, which is no surprise considering this was based on his own story. Not necessarily an LGBT leaning film the way it’s been marketed, but certainly of interest to that crowd, the movie has crossover appeal and should leave a dent in your heart and soul.
Kino Lorber brings Come Closer to DVD, but it has no special features to speak of. English subtitles are an option.
Version 1.0.0